News global

Catalonia to hold regional vote in September

Spain's Catalonia region will hold an election for regional parliament on September 27, Catalonian President Artur Mas said at a media conference on Wednesday. The election will determine whether the majority of lawmakers favor independence from Madrid, which insists the break-up is unconstitutional. The regional vote had been due no later than 2016.

​Kerry, Zarif resume nuclear talks in Geneva

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif resumed talks on Iran’s nuclear program in Geneva on Wednesday evening. After a five-hour meeting Wednesday afternoon, Kerry returned to the Mandarin Hotel for further discussions with Zarif, according to a senior State Department official. Negotiations for a nuclear deal fell through for a second time in November, when the parties failed to meet a self-imposed deadline. The counterparts hope to reach an agreement, which would lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on uranium enrichment by June 30.

Russian soldier accused of mass killing in Armenia may face life sentence

Hundreds of Armenians gathered at the Russian military base in Gyumry, Armenia's second largest city, demanding that Russian soldier Valery Permyakov – who is accused of killing a family of six and injuring an infant on Monday – be handed over. Protesters also picketed the Russian embassy in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, and marched to the presidential palace. Permyakov confessed to the crime after he was apprehended by Russian border guards at the Armenian-Turkish border, the deputy head of Armenia’s police, Unan Pogosyan, told reporters on Tuesday. However, the motive for the killings is yet unknown. A special commission of the Russian Defense Ministry has been dispatched to the Russian military base on Monday to investigate. A source in Russia’s Military Attorney Department told RIA Novsti that Permyakov may face anywhere from 20 years behind bars to life imprisonment.

OSCE to increase nos of monitors in Ukraine

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) plans to increase the number of its monitors in Ukraine to a maximum of 500 people by mid-February, Tass news agency reported. The announcement was made Wednesday by Alexander Hug, the deputy chief monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. By the end of this week, the number of monitors will reach 250, he said, adding that in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, there will eventually be 350 OSCE monitors.

US military says 18 air strikes target Islamic State in Syria, Iraq

US-led forces conducted 18 air strikes against Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) in Syria and Iraq in the past 24 hours, Reuters reported. Twelve of the strikes were launched in Iraq, mostly in northern areas where the militants have seized territory, the Combined Joint Task Force said. Tactical units, buildings and equipment belonging to the militants were targeted. Six strikes in Syria continued to hit Kobani near the Turkish border. Eight fighting positions and an armored vehicle were reportedly destroyed.

OSCE monitors leave Ukraine

A number of member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have decided to withdraw their monitors from Ukraine over security reasons, Tass reported. However, about 20 monitors are expected to return to the country soon, the OSCE’s press service said.

Afghanistan arrests 5 over Peshawar school attack

Afghan security forces have reportedly arrested five suspects for their alleged involvement in the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar, Pakistan. The attack claimed lives of at least 146 people. The Afghan authorities acted on Pakistani intelligence, and all the five suspects hail from Pakistan, Geo TV reported. The suspects were responsible for the planning of the APS attack and served as the coordinators, according to security sources.

Singapore navy ship locates fuselage of crashed AirAsia jet

A Singapore navy ship has located the fuselage of the AirAsia plane, AFP quoted the city state’s defense chief as saying Wednesday. Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen said in a Facebook post that one of the navy ships involved in the search, MV Swift Rescue, “has located the fuselage of the AirAsia plane in the Java Sea.” The plane crashed into the sea late last month with 162 people on board.

Indonesian divers investigate object believed to be AirAsia jet fuselage

Indonesian divers on Wednesday investigated an object believed to be the fuselage of the crashed AirAsia jet, where most of the victims’ bodies could be found, AFP reported. Flight QZ8501, with 162 people onboard, crashed into the Java Sea on December 28 in stormy weather during a short flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. The object, which is thought to be the jet’s fuselage, was earlier spotted on sonar scans and is lying about 3 kilometers from where the tail was found.

Napolitano steps down as Italian president

Italy’s president, Giorgio Napolitano, 89, stepped down Wednesday after almost nine years in office. Napolitano said two weeks ago that his advanced age had made it increasingly difficult for him to perform the duties of his office, Reuters reported. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said he wants to quickly reach an agreement with both his own party and political rivals to choose a successor in an office which has wide, but only loosely defined powers.

10 Turks arrested in China 

For supplying fake passports to Uighurs

Shanghai police have arrested 10 Turkish nationals, accusing them of supplying fake passports to ethnic Uighurs from the western region of Xinjiang, described as terror suspects by state media, Reuters said. Another 11 people, including nine Xinjiang “terror suspects,” were also detained in November. They were trying to leave China after paying $9,700 for altered Turkish passports, the Global Times newspaper reported.

Pope Francis canonizes first Sri Lankan saint

Pope Francis on Wednesday canonized Sri Lanka’s first saint as an example to promote national unity in the country, AP reported. The Rev. Joseph Vaz was a 17th century Indian missionary who revived the Catholic faith in Sri Lanka during a time of anti-Catholic persecution by Dutch colonists, who were Protestant Calvinists. The capital’s seafront park was attended by more than 500,000 people. Francis then headed to the northern city of Madhu to pray at the Our Lady of Madhu shrine, a Catholic pilgrimage site that is also a destination for people of other faiths. The visit is the first by a pope to the northern Tamil territory that was devastated by a 25-year civil war, and Francis is expected to call again for reconciliation between Sinhalese and Tamils.

Mexican ex-mayor charged with kidnapping 43 students

The former mayor of the southwestern city of Iguala has been charged with last year’s kidnapping of 43 students, Reuters quoted a senior Mexican security official as saying. Prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant for former mayor Jose Luis Abarca and 44 others on charges of kidnapping the 43 students, who are feared to have been killed, according to Tomas Zeron, director of criminal investigations at the federal Attorney General’s office. These are the first charges filed against Abarca that are directly related to the students’ disappearance. Authorities have said since October that the mayor and his wife masterminded the kidnappings.

Indonesia begins examining AirAsia black box flight recorders

Indonesian investigators began examining on Wednesday the black box flight recorders from an AirAsia passenger jet that crashed more than two weeks ago, Reuters reported. They hope to get clues to the crash within days. The recorders, in relatively good condition, were recovered from the bottom of the Java Sea and sent to the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, for analysis. “In one week, I think we will be getting a reading,” said Mardjono Siswosuwarno, chief investigator for the National Transportation Safety Committee.
Media agencies